A 70th birthday party held at the Ravenswood Hotel, in Rougham, has helped to raise over £1,400 for charity.

The event was held to mark Richard Bridgman’s seventh decade and was attended by 100 people and now he has handed over a cheque to staff at the West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds.

The money is going towards the My WiSH Charity’s Every Heart Matters Appeal which aims to raise £500,000 to build a brand new cardiac diagnostic unit at the hospital.

The West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is investing £5.2m in developing a state of the art cardiac suite that will provide quicker access to more treatments, but the £500,000 My WiSH Charity is hoping to raise will lead to the whole unit, which is currently fragmented on different floors, being brought together in one purpose-built centre.

Mr Bridgman, who lives in Tollgate Lane, in Bury St Edmunds, and is a member of the Local Enterprise Skills Board, said a total of £1,431.25 was handed over to the hospital but more money is still coming in.

“I said that I did not want presents or cards but just wanted donations for My WiSH Charity and they would put it towards the appeal. We had work colleagues, friends, family and people I have known over the years and Bury St Edmunds Jo Churchill also attended.”

Bury St Edmunds have given themselves a fighting chance of avoiding a relegation play-off, something that was almost unthinkable a fortnight ago, following a third victory of the season over Cambridge Granta on Saturday.